Thursday, November 10, 2011

eViL G's Weekly Picks for November 12th

Greetings everyone.

After the 2009 season I made a deal with myself not to take college football so seriously...I know, easier said than done. That season I "suffered" through UF going 13-1 and just missing out on their third BCS title game in four years. With the exception of a minor meltdown after losing to Georgia a couple weeks ago, for the most part I've been true to myself. Again, easier said than done, especially when Georgia is involved. I'm working on it mama, I really am.

College football is a game, an extracurricular activity. It's a welcome diversion for many, a source of pride for alums, students and fans, but at the end of the day it's a game. This season more than any in recent memory, we've received a sobering education on the lengths some folks will go to win football games, consequences be damned.

Ohio State lost its coach over tattoos and memorabilia. Miami is in the crosshairs of an NCAA investigation, but from all accounts the hookers and strippers were of age. My hometown UCF Knights' athletic department took a major hit based on NCAA allegations of agent activity on campus...a story that hit way too close to home.

Penn State just raised the bar...more on them later.

If we learned anything this week, we learned there are far more important things in life than winning a football game. We also learned Herman Cain is a freak and Rick Perry is an idiot.

Can Saturday get here any quicker? We could really use a diversion.

PICKS!!!

Florida at South Carolina

How bad is Florida's offense? How good is South Carolina's defense? Gamecock defensive end Melvin Ingram has 3 touchdowns. If Ingram played for Florida, he'd be in a second place tie with Trey Burton for most rushing TDs. Any questions?

Cocks - 21

Crocs - 10

Miami at Florida State

How irrelevant is the Miami-FSU rivalry in 2011? Yesterday I had lunch with FSU alum, 20+ year FSU season ticket holder and the pride of Terry Parker High School, Steven Biletnikoff SnoopMinnis Wix. Wix is to FSU what I am to Florida, only more pessimistic, and he hates Miami more than I hate Georgia. How big is this game? Wix will be watching from his living room in East Orlando.

Noles - 41

Canes - 15

Auburn at Georgia

Mark Richt got chippy with the media when asked if any players were suspended for Saturday's game against long-time rival Auburn. Urban Meyer took harsh criticism for UF players getting in trouble with the law. Truth be told, during Meyer's stay in Gainesville (one year too many), two schools had more arrests than UF. UGA was one. The other? Penn State...more on them later. UGA can all but wrap up the 2011 Tallest Midget contest...aka the SEC Eastern Division championship. Auburn is too young to play spoiler, not that I want them to. What I do want is for UGA to get a woodshed beating from LSU in the SEC Championship Game.

Dawgs - 24

Plainsmen - 14

Alabama at Mississippi State

Every now and then Bama tends to struggle at Starkville. In spite of a lingering post-LSU hangover, Mississippi State will have Bama's full attention...eventually...

Crimson Tide - 31

Other Dawgs - 10

Nebraska at Penn State

JoePa is out, and now PSU assistant coach/super ginger Mike McQueary is out too...but he gets to keep his job for now. Do you honestly think Penn State's football team is in the proper frame of mind to win this game?

Huskers - 28

Lions - 23

Oregon at Stanford

You just know Andrew Luck is pissed at the Miami Dolphins for beating Kansas City last week. I'd be pissed too. Who wants to play in Indianapolis? Expect this game to resemble the Toledo-Western Michigan track meet from Tuesday night, only with better athletes, smarter students and Tiger Woods on the sidelines.

If you haven't already read the 23-page grand jury report detailing sexual assault allegations of former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, and you think you have the stomach for it, click the link above and check it out. If you made it past Page 5, you did better than most.

There's plenty of blame to go around, but what's crystal clear is there were far too many people more concerned with protecting Penn State than the children Sandusky allegedly had his way with. Everyone involved, from Mike McQueary to Joe Paterno to University Police, they all fell short of their moral obligation to protect kids who couldn't protect themselves.

A faction of Penn State students showed their ingorance and their collective asses on national television, blaming the media for this mess. ESPN's Colin Cowherd was on point when he said, "Don't blame Weather Channel for the Category 5 hurricane." What's ironic is several of the victims mentioned in the grand jury report are now college-aged. Sometimes youth is wasted on the young.

At best, Paterno didn't do enough. At worst, he's part of a larger conspiracy which allowed a child predator to operate unchecked within the facilities of his football program. Paterno wasn't implicated or accused of any wrongdoing, and from all reports isn't a target of the Sandusky investigation. So it makes perfect sense he's contacted a prominent defense attorney to represent him.....represent him for what exactly?

And why is no one digging deeper into the disappearance of Ray Gricar, the original district attorney who worked the Sandusky investigation back in 2005? Gricar went missing in April 2005 and has since been declared dead, but his body was never found.

This story isn't going anywhere soon, and as I type this new allegations are surfacing regarding Sandusky, his Second Mile charity and some wealthy Penn State donors...and it's not pretty. Civil suits will cost Penn State millions of dollars. As time passes we'll find out more people either suspected or knew about Jerry Sandusky, but failed to take action. More victims will come forward. Mike McQueary will eventually leave Happy Valley, voluntarily or involuntarily. If convicted, Jerry Sandusky will eventually gain the perspective of his victims...hopefully often and without consent.

3 comments:

I definitely agree that anyone who wants to pass judgement for or against the football team at PSU should make an educated decision about it AFTER they read that report. It's not an easy thing to read, but it's definitely something that has to be done. Speaking of things that "have to be done" Joe Paterno's dismissal as head coach at PSU had to be done. It's not the most popular choice/decision, but it was and is the right choice.